


Like a Moth to a Flame

by ChildishLandino



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben Solo is a Mess, Crack, Crack Fic, Halloween crack, Happy Halloween, Modern AU, No Beta, Reylo - Freeform, Roux - Freeform, and awkward af, and has a crush, but he’s not awkward, halloween party, so does hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-17 01:15:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21257663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildishLandino/pseuds/ChildishLandino
Summary: Armitage Hux has a crush on one, Rose Tico. So when she says that she doesn’t have plans for Halloween, he immediately whips a party together. Ben Solo is his roommate, and hates Halloween, and hates parties, and kind of hates Hux. What he doesn’t hate is the actual sunbeam that shows up at the party.OR - Armitage may seem to ruin Ben’s life but maybe it was actually a ploy.Prompt from @reylo_prompts on twitter!
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 15
Kudos: 160
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	Like a Moth to a Flame

**Author's Note:**

> This is straight, ridiculous crack and I apologize for any glaring errors as I only read through twice and I did not beta it. Happy Halloween everyone! Stay safe and have a blast!

It was single-handedly the dorkiest costume he had ever put on. Why was he a moth, one might’ve asked? Because he had plenty of brown items lying around. It was that simple. 

Ben Solo was not a Halloween guy. He had never cared for the holiday. His roommate, Hux, however was obsessed with it. The ginger man was also quite obsessed with the new girl at work. So obsessed, in fact, that when little Rose lamented having no Halloween plans, Hux immediately invited her to the party he was throwing. 

Thus Ben learned that they were hosting a party. The two of them scrambled together to find discounted decorations, cheap party food options, and of course - guests other than Rose. Ben couldn’t bring himself to be mad at Hux, not completely at least. He himself happened to have been obsessed with a girl at work as well. 

A girl that he had spoken maybe five sentences to. A girl who was far too stunning with her honey brown hair and sparkling, golden flecked hazel eyes. A girl who was fiery, loud, and stubborn. A girl who was the literal embodiment of her name. Rey. 

Yeah, it was bad. 

So no, Ben could not fault Hux for actually having the balls to throw together plans at the last possible second just to get to know a girl. It was commendable. 

Still, back to the costume. Ben had not been planning on wearing one. Attending the party was enough for him, but Hux was not having it. His pasty, brooding roommate had fretted over the best costume that made him look relaxed yet fun, quirky but suave. It was the dumbest thing. Hux had even reached out to  _ Poe Fucking Dameron _ for his opinion. 

Fuck that noise. Ben hated that dude. It was bad enough he was coming to the party, but then Ben had to endure him in his apartment for two days while he got Hux set up with his costume. And what was that costume one may ask?

Fred Weasley. 

Seriously. 

Ben had rolled his eyes harder than he had at any other point in his life. How on earth had  _ Fred Weasley  _ been the final product of night after night studying? It was literally a suit and some gauze around his head. Maybe a little blood, “ _ for the spooky effect”  _ Hux had said. 

When Poe was all finished with Hux he gave Ben a withering stare. 

_ “What about you, huh?” Poe stepped closer to Ben and gave him a once over that was so uncomfortable Ben wanted to actually fall into the floorboards. “Maybe stick with the Harry Potter theme and go with Snape?”  _

_ Ben snorted. “No way.”  _

_ Poe rolled his eyes. “Alright miss priss. No Harry Potter. Hmm…”  _

_ Poe started to walk slow circles around Ben. Forced Ben to raise his arms ‘like this’ and hold his head ‘as so’. It was stupid and Ben was over it. Hux had better get his dick wet after all of this nonsense.  _

_ “I’ve got it!” Hux looked up from his phone with a glint in his eye.  _

_ “Got what?” Poe asked, peeking around Ben’s shoulder.  _

_ “Solo’s costume, obviously.” Hux flipped his phone around revealing a google search of moth photos. “A moth! It’s brilliant, of course. They’re nocturnal.” He gestured towards Ben. “They’re pests.”  _

_ “Mm, accurate,” Poe chimed in.  _

_ “And they’re extremely fragile,” Hux emphasized the last word and shoved his phone in his back pocket. “So moths are the literal definition of one, Benjamin Solo.”  _

_ Ben felt himself bristling. That was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard. He was not...no. That wasn’t…. Ugh.  _

_ “Absolutely not.”  _

_ “Mm, yeah.” Poe nodded, a hand on his chin. “Fragile.”  _

_ “Shut up, Dameron.” Ben huffed and ran a hand through his overly-shaggy-at-this-point raven hair and worked his jaw. “Fine. I don’t care. This is for you and your fucking crush, Hux. Don’t forget it.”  _

_ “Never,” Hux sent him a sinister smile. At least that was Ben’s interpretation. “Now, let’s check your closet.”  _

The final product ended up being one of Ben’s tan and black striped sweaters, a pair of brown slacks, brown shoes. Hux and Poe had scrounged supplies together to half-hazardly create a fluffy pair of antennae from socks and some pillowcase wings stuffed with more socks. 

It was ridiculous. 

The party was going to start in a little less than two hours at that point. The three men got to work “decorating” to the best of their abilities. Which were apparently not much. 

There were black streamers hanging down the walls of the main living space in various lengths. They had hung little...twirly things with bats on the end from the ceiling fans and light fixtures. Some window clings of different stereotypical Halloween things were on all glass like surfaces. Plus a few other random clearance products thrown around. 

It looked far more like a party for five year olds than mid-twenty to early-thirty aged adults. 

As Ben put out drink supplies and poured a terrifying concoction for ‘punch’, he grimaced at the state of their home. They had a strobe light for a corner, and were going to use the dimmer table lights instead of overhead ones. He prayed to whoever was listening that it would be enough to hide their inadequate decorations

A knock at the door signified the first of the guests were arriving. Early.  _ Of course _ , Ben mentally groaned as he threw ten-thousand pizza bites into the oven. 

“Don’t worry,” Hux said holding his hands out. “It’s just Rose and her two friends.” 

Ben watched as Hux gave himself a minute - shook his limbs and took a few deep breaths. Ben could feel the small smile even as he rolled his eyes. It was almost endearing. The dude looked like such a dumbass with all that gauze. 

The human ball of nervous energy finally opened the door with a brilliant grin on his face. Ben was fairly certain he had never seen a smile that large on his roommate’s face. It was as nice as it was unsettling. 

Hello’s were exchanged as they bustled through the door to get out of the already chilly weather. A particular voice - a deep but feminine, British, enthusiastic voice - caught Ben’s attention and he nearly dropped the bowl of chips in his hand.  _ Rey was there _ . 

Ben wasn’t ready. Sure, he knew she had been invited. But he hadn’t thought she was coming early. Before there was a large crowd to keep him separated and distracted. No, it was just - what - six people? That meant he would absolutely have to talk to her and he was one-hundred percent completely terrified. 

The front door shut and Ben looked around the kitchen, trying to decide if there was a place he could dive into. The first room they were going to pass was the kitchen. There was the bar top leading into the living room, maybe he could just dive through it real quick. He took two panicked paces back, ready to try and- 

“Hey Ben.”

He froze, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He could do this… he was an adult. It was just talking. It’s fine.  _ Say something you idiot _

“H...hey Rey,” he managed to choke out before finally his eyes finally opened. 

He regretted it immediately. 

Rey was stunning. A sparkling crown of sunbeams graced the top of her head, her hair was down and had some kind of glitter sprayed in it. She had on a simple white crop top and highwaisted golden pants. He looked back up to her face and saw that the same glitter in her hair danced across her skin as well. It glittered against her tan skin in such an alluring way...Ben was captivated. 

And Rey was staring at him. 

“Ah, sorry, what?” He asked giving himself a shake. 

“What are you dressed as?” She gestured to his (useless, stupid, ridiculous) costume with her shimmering, perfect hand. Ben didn’t even try to repress the groan that escaped. 

“It was Hux’s idea. I’m a moth.” He shimmied his shoulders just enough to make the wings ‘flap’ sadly. Rey brought her hand to her mouth and stifled a laugh behind it. He dropped his head in shame. 

“No, no, don’t be upset.” Rey was stepping closer to him. “It’s cute,” her hand was on his arm. “I like it.” 

Ben gulped, looking down at her, she was just under his nose. She was  _ so close,  _ what was he supposed to do? Maybe he should touch her back? That would be a good idea, right? Maybe he should just risk it all and kiss her? He could claim he was pregaming with the punch. Maybe he should move her? To the side? Maybe he should move? 

Before he could come up with an actual answer, there was a knock at the front door. 

“Ah, yeah…” He started to inch around her. “I should uh, I should get that.”

Ben gave his best apology smile before practically running out of the room. Rey appeared to look disappointed with him, but surely that was his imagination. 

  
  


———————————

“Did you see that?” 

“Of course I did, Solo is a bloody idiot.” 

“They couldn’t be more obvious.” 

“Don’t worry, your idea was a good one.” 

“Ben had better not ruin it.” 

———————————

The party progressed fairly well throughout the evening. Ben could be found sipping on a beer in the far corner of the room, under the strobe light, trying his best to not be seen. He had managed a few conversations. He caught up with Finn, who seemed to be in hot pursuit of Poe, along with most everyone else in the room. 

Ben also seemed to constantly be running into Rose, who was dressed as Ron Weasley. She said that she had about died when she saw Hux’s outfit. Maybe Ben was too quick to judge the man. Rose  _ also _ kept commenting on how stunning Rey looked, Ben only able to nod in agreement - awkwardly, behind a cup, of course. 

She would eventually scamper away with a “Doesn’t light attract moths?” and Ben would be left feeling all flustered. 

A few different women approached him asking what he was, when he explained they would giggle and tell him how  _ adorable  _ it was. Most of these women had on more visible skin than clothing. Which was fine, they were adults, but it made Ben uncomfortable with how close they were getting. He would always find an excuse to get away. 

During a refill of punch, he found himself cornered by Hux and Poe. They backed him into the hallway and against a wall. Both of them were glaring at him. 

“Eh...what did I do?” Ben asked, taking a nervous sip of his punch. 

“You’re being an absolute dumbass,” Hux growled at him, giving him a slap on the arm. “You are thirty-one fucking years old! Act like it!”

“Seriously, you are making people uncomfortable!” Poe was all but yelling at him. “You’re all slinky in the corner and act all weird when people talk to you.” 

“I don’t do well with parties.” Ben could feel his face burning. 

“Women are leaving because they’re scared of you,” Hux informed him. Ben was floored. 

“I don’t believe you. That’s ridiculous.” 

“No! YOU’RE ridiculous. Act like a human being or leave!” 

Poe gave him a rather forceful nudge, forcing Ben’s back up against the wall once more. Hux and Poe nodded at each other before storming off, leaving Ben in the hallway to think. 

He wasn’t  _ that _ unsettling was he? He had always been awkward in crowds, ever since he was a kid. As a kid it hadn’t mattered… 

But, well,  _ maybe  _ an adult male that slinked around in corners of a dark party, staring ahead at the people in the room… okay, maybe that was weird. He didn’t mean it that way, of course! He just really, truly, didn’t want to be there. 

“Auughh, fuck,” he turned around and banged his forehead into the wall. He was an idiot. 

Well, fine. If they wanted him to mingle, then he would go mingle. With one person. That was it. One person, who was always shining amongst the crowd. One person who he will more than likely just ...swallow his tongue around. But also the one person he actually wanted to talk to. 

If it backfired he would just quit his job. 

Easy. 

Ben walked to the kitchen and filled his cup up one more time, downing the punch in one go, and felt the rush to his brain. Now he could go talk. It couldn’t go any worse than it already had. 

———————————

“He’s finally going to talk to her!” 

“We hope.” 

“No, he definitely is.” 

“Great job with the costumes by the way.” 

“They didn’t work as well as I’d thought.” 

“Still fucking brilliant.”

“Stop flirting and focus.” 

———————————

_ Okay, Solo, you got this. Just go up to her and say something. Tell her she looks amazing or something. You got this. You’re a fucking grown ass man you got this.  _

Grown-ass adult man Ben Solo walked directly into Rey, nearly knocking her over. He managed to grab her arm before she went completely over. 

“What the—“ Rey turned around with a glare, which immediately fell into a look of confusion when she saw him there. “Ben? Why did you  _ shove _ me?” 

He let go of her arm that he realized was still in his grasp, moving his hand instead to his hair, and he raked his fingers through it like he always did when he was flustered. 

“Ah. I didn’t mean to. I was trying to make a joke.”

“A joke?” Rey crossed her gloriously shimmering, tan arms and cocked a hip to the side. “What kind of joke involves hurting me?” 

“No! No! I was only trying to bump you, not barrel you over like that.” He sighed. He was completely useless. “Because I’m a moth? And you’re light?” 

Rey gave him an incredulous look before cracking up. She laughed for a long time, his cheeks were burning all the while. With a shake of her head, she took a few steps backwards. She raised her eyebrows at him in a challenge. Ben felt like withering in a hole for the rest of his life, but took his own few steps forward and -  _ gently  _ \- bumped into her this time. 

They repeated the back and forth until Rey bumped herself into a wall. She looked up through her lashes to him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Ben could feel the lopsided grin as it took over his face. Two steps forward and he bumped into her, backed up, then did it again. His arms rose to brace the wall on either side of her and he leaned in, just a little. 

“Well, little sunbeam, it looks like I finally caught up to you.” Was this flirting? He hoped it was. He could feel how clammy his hands were against the wall. Was he overstepping? Maybe he had completely misread the situation. Ben made to pull back, but Rey’s hand was on his sweater, balling it up in her hands. 

“You did, Mr. Moth,” she leaned up to him, not giving him a chance to try to escape. “So what are you going to do with me?” 

———————————

“Are they snogging?” 

“Oh my god, don’t say ‘snogging’ are you kidding me?! But yes, they absolutely are.” 

“About damn time.” 

“Is...is that door his room?” 

“It is.” 

“Are they gonna bone?” 

“Definitely not.” 

“You’re right, they’re totally gonna make out like teenagers though.” 

“Absolutely.” 

“Feels good man.” 

“Well done, Rose.” 

“Well done, Armie.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
Please let me know what you think, your words mean everything! 
> 
> Come say hi to me on Twitter!


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